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Post by greenguy on Aug 28, 2008 16:47:08 GMT -5
I can't recall if this has ever been discussed. It has been said that had NBC picked up TGAHeroine, it would have been scheduled Sundays at 6pm opposite 60 Minutes. A death slot for sure, however that's not the reason for this post. Back in the 80's the FCC required any show airing in that timeslot have a certain amount of educational material. While that works for a news program such as 60 Minutes, and even a series like Voyagers!, (due to the show being centered around historical events)it was a problem for other series. Anyone remember Galactica: 1980? Although that series had flaws in many areas, it was also saddled with silly nonsense that the network called "educational beats". For instance, in one scene during a car chase, one character actually takes time to explain how the internal combustion engine works?!? The show was full of inane dialogue required by the network to satisfy FCC regs. I shudder at the thought of Bill Maxwell trading rounds with a few thugs, and at the same time explaining to Sarah how a gun actually works! "okay, kid...BLAM, BLAM...see as I pull the trigger..BLAM, BLAM...the hammer pulls back...BLAM, BLAM" Our favorite show was already watered down a bit due to it's original 7pm timeslot, I can only imagine how Heroine would have faired, not only in the Sunday "Family Hour", but also hindered with the shoe-horned in educational material to boot.
Thoughts?
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Post by MelMac on Aug 28, 2008 18:15:39 GMT -5
It would also explain partially why they had the Save the Whales theme in the "GAHeroine" pilot as well. I don't know, there would be a way to make it educational without it appearing as such. Had it been Ralph and Bill, they could've put in some teen issues that could be delved into more, such as alcohol or drug abuse, and Ralph teach the student that drugs/alcohol weren't the answer. But, at the same time there was the risk of it turning into an early evening afterschool special. The Holly and Bill scenario in a way felt like they were already pandering to it given that they had Holly teaching elementary school age kids and being more of a "tree-hugging hippie" than Ralph was. We'd probably have had her talk about what nuclear bombs could do, the effect of pollution or other ecological issues. The oddity is, given how "GAHeroine" faired, I think the family hour/educational requirements aspect would've been easier to fit in to scenarios than if it were Ralph and Bill. The trouble, however, would be to try and get new ideas in order to keep the educational material included in it fresh. That said, given the slot faced "60 Minutes," it'd been difficult for the show to stay on given how many people like watching the show. (Well, it has to be a lot given how many years it's been on ). Not really sure how either pairing would've fared, though IMHO Ralph and Bill might've stood a better chance given fans and casual viewers would recognize them and remember the show (though wonder why Pam wasn't there). It'd been harder for the Bill and Holly team, but not impossible.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Aug 28, 2008 23:42:24 GMT -5
Ironically, I think Culp would have brought a good element to the educational aspect. Besides, I am sure Sarah knew and would rather just lecture him about not needing to use one.
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Post by greenguy on Aug 29, 2008 7:07:32 GMT -5
Ironically, I think Culp would have brought a good element to the educational aspect. Besides, I am sure Sarah knew and would rather just lecture him about not needing to use one. I can't see Maxwell as written in the original series spewing out educational elements. Sarah lecturing him about not using a gun wouldn't count as educational. Now in a classroom setting I could see it working with Holly
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Post by mmderdekea on Aug 29, 2008 9:13:29 GMT -5
Ironically, I think Culp would have brought a good element to the educational aspect. Besides, I am sure Sarah knew and would rather just lecture him about not needing to use one. I can't see Maxwell as written in the original series spewing out educational elements. Sarah lecturing him about not using a gun wouldn't count as educational. Now in a classroom setting I could see it working with Holly The only valid educational aspect of Sarah lecturing Maxwell about anything would be him sticking her obnoxious body in a corner for a Time Out for the entire rest of the episode, which would teach people how to be good parent role models to bratty kids! Mona
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Sept 2, 2008 10:35:11 GMT -5
Ironically, I think Culp would have brought a good element to the educational aspect. Besides, I am sure Sarah knew and would rather just lecture him about not needing to use one. I can't see Maxwell as written in the original series spewing out educational elements. Sarah lecturing him about not using a gun wouldn't count as educational. Now in a classroom setting I could see it working with Holly Really? I guess I could see Culp getting that way at times, especially if they made his "reports" part of the series theme. He could sum it up for himself in a way that "taught" the lesson. I agree that it would have been better with Holly, but I guess I can see Culp as pulling it off via Maxwell...just a little gruffer.
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Post by mmderdekea on Sept 2, 2008 13:41:43 GMT -5
Overall, I think any educational pauses would have ruined the show completely. It would have been so out of line with the flavor and themes the show was about. Maxwell: Let us now discuss, Ralph, why the aliens are actually colored green. Ralph: Perhaps, like Spock's fictional character on Star Trek, they have copper based blood. Copper, as we know from people wearing copper bracelets, and from pollution from copper mines, has a green taint to it. Maxwell: So, their skin has high amounts of copper in it as well? Ralph: It's very likely. Maxwell: What about their funny looking lizard heads? Or, this one might be more likely. Maxwell: As I plunge to Earth having been pushed out of the criminals' airplane, let me contemplate the rate of descent I am experiencing while I wait for Ralph to fly up to me. I am accelerating to the Earth at quicker rates due to the gravity of the Earth, which increases the closer I get to it. Ralph (flying up to Bill and grabbing hold of him): Bill, let me clarify your terminology. Galileo proved that the acceleration of a freely falling object is constant; that means the velocity of a freely falling object changes at a constant rate. The rate depends on the planet, due to differences in size and mass. Bill: So, how quickly are we falling until you start slowing us down? Ralph: Approximately, 10 m/s/s. Bill: Can you decrease a teensy quicker as I can see us getting pretty close to the ground...? Ralph: Okay, I will use the powers of the suit to further slow our descent. Bill: NOW, Ralph! NOW! Bill and Ralph: OOOOOMPPPHHH! (crash!) Good for a parody, but it wouldn't REALLY work for the show. Mona
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Sept 2, 2008 14:00:15 GMT -5
On that level, I agree with you, Mona. However, we had educational episode elements at times in the orignal series. Look at SATURDAY ON SUNSET BOULEVARD. We learned about the caste systems. Not much, but a little and that might be all it needed overall.
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Post by greenguy on Sept 2, 2008 14:50:43 GMT -5
Mona nailed it pretty dead on in the way these "educational beats" were added to various series. They were usually jammed in scenes with characters all of a sudden sounding like they were reading from a text book. All except Voyagers! as I stated above. At least you could work basically a history lesson into the framework of the show, and satisfy the FCC requirements.
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Post by greenguy on Sept 2, 2008 14:54:46 GMT -5
However, we had educational episode elements at times in the orignal series. Look at SATURDAY ON SUNSET BOULEVARD. We learned about the caste systems. Not much, but a little and that might be all it needed overall. That scene was pretty well written as in the info wasn't shoved down your throat like words spewing out of a encyclopedia. However the FCC required more than that, which is why there were always several "beats" per episode. If it was to be done, it should have been in that style.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Sept 2, 2008 19:47:39 GMT -5
I see. I can believe that it would come across as forced then. If it was something like the example I mentioned though, I could see Bill pulling those off for us.
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Post by MelMac on Sept 2, 2008 21:23:24 GMT -5
Of course it could've been worse - had it succeeded, they could've ended up doing a "break the proscenium" bit and the characters actually talk to the viewer instead of threading it in. But, I agree, the information would probably feel forced, and "GAH" was better at showing lessons such as the caste system and real life scenarios and humans emotions without having to be forced to do so. Made for a more natural humor and realistic show.
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Post by Captain Marbles on Sept 5, 2008 8:32:31 GMT -5
They might have incorporated the educational stuff into the clues, you know, to catch the "villain of the week". Kind of like a live action "Carmen Sandiego" kind of thing. With a super heroine.
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Post by MelMac on Sept 5, 2008 8:55:26 GMT -5
They might have incorporated the educational stuff into the clues, you know, to catch the "villain of the week". Kind of like a live action "Carmen Sandiego" kind of thing. With a super heroine. You know, that'd worked quite well: put in the information as a summary of what the item is and such. One could incorporate a lot of historical, military, and science into those clues. It would be similar to some of the stuff on "CSI" when they mention in detail how someone died sometimes (i.e. because of how it's sawed off, a bullet from a sawed off shotgun can become compressed as it goes through the barrel and therefore become thinner - and faster).
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Post by Captain Marbles on Sept 5, 2008 9:41:04 GMT -5
Except that shotguns don't fire bullets.
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Post by MelMac on Sept 5, 2008 11:28:21 GMT -5
Except that shotguns don't fire bullets. Oh, sorry - Never have fired a weapon in my life. I mean a weapon used to shoot bullets that had it's muzzle sawed off. The science behind it however is the same.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Sept 5, 2008 12:02:56 GMT -5
Good point Captain Marbles. A Carmen Sandiago could have been fun. Mel, shotguns fire buckshot...or mine does.
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Post by MelMac on Sept 5, 2008 12:19:04 GMT -5
Good point Captain Marbles. A Carmen Sandiago could have been fun. Mel, shotguns fire buckshot...or mine does. Yes... and this is why I said I've never fired a weapon and corrected my comment. Sometimes I do get them mixed up.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Sept 5, 2008 13:25:56 GMT -5
You should fire one. It's fun.
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Post by MelMac on Sept 6, 2008 15:07:02 GMT -5
You know more I think about it - if they had to go the educational route and wanted Holly to incorporate it into her lessons sometimes, they'd probably had to have a slightly older class so it wasn't something that wouldn't go over their heads. She has them doing handprint art, which would go for about Pre-K/Kindergarten, but then again Sarah would read at least first grade. It'd been hard regardless.
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